Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Ryugen Budou Arms

Release Date: September 2025

RRP: 11,000 yen

Kamen Rider Gaim's introduction to the Shinkocchou Seihou line came as a bit of surprise - not one that was by any means unwelcome but there are arguably much far dated figures in the S.H. Figuarts repertoire more deserving of a spot in Bandai Tamashii Nations' "true bone carving" line. That said - Gaim and Baron quickly justified their existence with not only improved sculpts and proportions, but also the implementation of the "Arms Change" gimmick that brought a whole new level of play and display to the figures. Although an additional Pine and Ichigo Arms Change set for Gaim released earlier in the year, it's not much fun only having two Riders to use the gimmick with - especially when Gaim has such a big roster. 11 years after the release of his original figure S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Ryugen Budou Arms is the third Gaim Rider to receive the true bone carving treatment, though this time coming as a Tamashii Web exclusive rather than a standard retail release - a sure sign that it isn't 2014 anymore.

Kamen Rider Ryugen comes in the usual two-piece S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou packaging, once again sporting that matte feel that's become common with on the Kamen Rider releases. The front of the box features a great head shot of the figure against a white backdrop, with the character name written in silver lettering against a black backdrop. The underside of the box then features an array of images - not only showing Ryugen off in variety of poses but also alongside Gaim and Baron AND how he looks wearing each of their armours. Inside the contents of the set are spread across the usual two plastic trays – one for the figure itself and then a smaller one underneath for the accessories.

When it comes to seamlessly blending two wildly different motifs, nothing does it quite like Kamen Rider Gaim. Contrasting nicely with Gaim's samurai design and Baron's medieval look, Ryugen is instead based on traditional Chinese armour - with a grape theme thrown on top as if it's always been there. There's a lot of detailing and flourishes in the design that are equally worthy of praise, but ultimately it all works so well because of that gorgeous colour scheme. The metallic green and purple being reminiscent of both Chinese dragons and a bunch of grapes - it's genius at work. As well as being especially vibrant, the use of black on the upper arms and legs really helps tie that colour scheme together. There really isn't a detail out of place here, and it's an opportunity to re-appreciate the Gaim designs all these years later.

It's still worth noting that the old Gaim S.H. Figuarts are still damn good figures despite their age. While the Shinkocchou Seihou version has obvious improvements when it comes to size and proportions, the original figure from 2014 still matches up pretty well in regards to articulation. It's not that the Shinkocchou Seihou is lacking in any way - the originals were just some of the best the line had to offer for a long time, and still a very affordable alternative for anyone looking for something cheaper, smaller and lacking the Arms Change gimmick. Other slight improvements here also include some finer line work on the suit, particularly all the gold flourishes. The fact that the Shinkocchou Seihou figure also successfully carried over the metallic green suit colouring makes it even more frustrating that Bandai inexplicably went for a flat shade on Baron.

Ryugen features a detailed Sengoku Driver complete with working Cutter Arm, personal faceplate and removable Budou Lockseed. Admittedly all these features were also on the original figure as well, but the slightly larger scale allows them to be presented with much better detailing. Despite some issues with the Cutter Arm being slightly loose on my Baron figure, I'm pleased to see that it's a lot tighter (but still useable here). The open Budou Lockseed can be replaced in the Driver with the closed version included here as a separate accessory, and either can also be held by the figure itself in the designated hands. 

Even if the articulation isn't a significant improvement over the original, there's still plenty to talk about here when it comes to poseability. Altogether Kamen Rider Ryugen features;

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist and wrists

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles

- Double hinge elbows and knees

- Single hinge toe sections

- Bicep, forearm and thigh swivels

The shoulder pads on the undersuit are attached to the usual floating ball joints so that they can move independently of the arms, and the Budou Arms shoulder pieces are double hinged just like they were on the original release. And just like the original release, there are a few areas with slightly restricted movement - the combination of the ornamental helmet and raised collar piece means limitations in head/neck movement (particularly when tilting the head back), and the soft plastic covering the crotch does slightly limit forward movement on the hips. But generally articulation continues to be really good. The limitations are simply by nature of the design, and the figure gets around it well thanks to all the joints loaded in elsewhere. The addition of forearm swivels was quite a nice surprise. It's about what you'd expect from a standard Shinkocchou Seihou release, which is all the more impressive considering how bulky some parts of the Budou Arms armour is.

Ryugen's accessories include five additional pairs of hands, a closed Budou Lockseed, the Budou Ryuhou, an alternate orange visor piece for use with Gaim's Orange Arms and finally an alternate purple visor piece for Gaim when using him alongside the Budou Arms pieces. Despite throwing in an extra pair of open ones this time around the hand selection is largely the same as what was previously include with Ryugen - open hands, weapon holding, closed fists...the usual mix really. To match the larger proportions of the figure the Budou Ryugen is also slightly larger this time around - again with slightly sharper paintwork and detailing. However one big difference on the Shinkocchou Seihou version is that the pull-hammer is now a moveable piece, whereas on the original it was a swappable one. It's a little change, but it's always much nicer when little gimmicks are incorporated directly into the weapons without the need for parts-swapping. Like before, a specific pair of hands have been included for Ryugen to clutch the pull-hammer as he did in the show.

The implementation of the Arms Change gimmick also means that you can give Ryugen a "blank" form - achieved by removing the Budou Arms armour pieces from the torso and head as well as the purple eye piece sitting behind the faceplate. As with the previous Gaim Shinkocchou Seihou figures, disassembling Ryugen is a lot more straightforward than you might think - the only slightly daunting part being popping the head off its ball joint (and even that is mostly in the mind - the neck joint is pretty sturdy). The armour pieces clip off the torso without any force required, and the faceplate slips off easily to access the eyepiece. While unlikely to ever be anyone's primary option for displaying Ryugen, it's still fun that the figures can achieve such a form without the sculpts looking incomplete.

Throwing Budou Arms into the mix moves the line in territory that wasn't covered by the show itself. Sure the old Arms Change gimmick line made all these forms possible, but it's nice to see them all these years later on far more detailed and show-accurate figures. With how wild some of these colour combinations are it's not that surprising they didn't appear on the show as they would have been an assault on the eyes, but these no denying how good some of them look. Gaim continues to look excellent with pretty much any armour attached, while the yellowy gold of Banana Arms works surprisingly well with Ryugen's gold accents. It does however continue to be a little annoying that Baron's silver torso piece is technically considered part of Banana Arms, so you do also have to remove that to get a true "suit accurate" version of the form. This of course doesn't really work if you want to display Baron with a different armour at the same time though, so luckily it still looks good even with Ryugen's usual green torso piece. Despite that ever-so-slight fear when you're constantly popping the heads on and off, it's really fun to mix and match these Riders and it'll continue to be even more fun as more Riders/Armours are introduced into the line.

While it continues to be true that the Kamen Rider Gaim range aren't perhaps as significant an upgrade as a lot of the other figures in the line, that doesn't change the fact that S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Ryugen Budou Arms is a fantastic upgrade of an already fantastic figure. The Arms Change gimmick continues to be a massive sell for anyone who enjoys the ability to mix and match these figures into weird and wonderful combinations far more suit-accurate that the old Arms Change gimmick could ever achieve, but even without that the improvements to the scale and proportions make the Ryugen well worth the upgrade. While I have severe doubts that this new Gaim range will be anywhere near as extensive as it was 10 years ago, we can assume at the very least that Zangetsu is on the way at some point - fingers crossed the wait isn't too long.